The Yemeni Coastal Plain or Plateau is the northwestern region of modern Yemen that lies between the Red Sea and the Yemeni Mountains. Here, we are interested in the phase of its prehistory known as the Late Bronze Age (c. 1200-801 BCE). Yemeni Bronze Age communities relied on farming and animal husbandry, though bronze itsems, shells, semi-precious stones, and obsidian all suggest that trade networks were well established at this time.
[1]
No serious works on the estimates for the area and population in the Neolithic and Bronze Age Yemen.
[2]
Similarly, no speculation could be found in the literature regarding possible forms of political organisation prevalent at the time; from an archaeological perspective. However, it is worth noting that some sites were larger than others, and that the larger sites differed from smaller ones in their layout as well as their size,
[3]
suggesting perhaps a hierarchical relationship between the two types. Moreover, some sites included buildings that were significantly larger than others, and that stood apart from the other buildings as well; though their precise function remains difficult to ascertain, certain features, such as benches along the walls, suggest public use.
[4]
[1]: (De Maigret 2002: 152-153) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X3MRZCH5.
[2]: (A. Sedov: pers. comm. to E. Cioni: September 2019)
[3]: (De Maigret 2002: 144) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X3MRZCH5.
[4]: (De Maigret 2002: 145) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X3MRZCH5.
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| inferred present |
| absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| absent |
| Year Range | Yemen - Late Bronze Age (ye_yemen_lba) was in: |
|---|---|
| (1200 BCE 801 BCE) | Yemeni Coastal Plain |
levels. "The sites can be divided into two categories not only by their size, but also their layout." [1]
[1]: (De Maigret 2002: 144) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X3MRZCH5.
"Often, one house appears to be more important than the others, displaying specific and distinctive attributes (dominant position, more rooms, grander entrance, etc.). This suggests that there was a system of hierarchy within the community." [1] Alexander Sedov confirmed that it is not known whether there were any specialised administrative buildings in Yemen between the fourth and first millennia BCE. [2]
[1]: (De Maigret 2002: 153) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X3MRZCH5.
[2]: (A. Sedov: pers. comm. to E. Cioni: September 2019)
Sabaens fortified Sana’a and Marib to protect two trade routes. [1] The cities of Marib and Sirwah "were probably walled right from the beginning of their history" [2] which probably began at the end of the second millennium BCE. [3] Mud and bricks are detectable in the earliest layers of the walls of Marib with limestone in some later layers. [4] "It seems that these massive walls were constructed up to a width of 14 meters." [4]
[1]: (McLaughlin 2008, 5) Daniel McLaughlin. 2008. Yemen. Bradt Travel Guides.
[2]: (Schnelle 2008, 109) Mike Schnelle. Origins of Sabaen Fortifications of the Early 1st Millennium BC - Some Suggestions to the Examples of the Cities Marib and Sirwah (Yemen). Rune Frederiksen. Mike Schnelle. Silke Muth. Peter Schneider. eds. 2016. Focus on Fortifications: New Research on Fortifications in the Ancient Mediterranean and the Near East. Oxbow Books. Oxford.
[3]: (Schnelle 2008, 110) Mike Schnelle. Origins of Sabaen Fortifications of the Early 1st Millennium BC - Some Suggestions to the Examples of the Cities Marib and Sirwah (Yemen). Rune Frederiksen. Mike Schnelle. Silke Muth. Peter Schneider. eds. 2016. Focus on Fortifications: New Research on Fortifications in the Ancient Mediterranean and the Near East. Oxbow Books. Oxford.
[4]: (Schnelle 2008, 113) Mike Schnelle. Origins of Sabaen Fortifications of the Early 1st Millennium BC - Some Suggestions to the Examples of the Cities Marib and Sirwah (Yemen). Rune Frederiksen. Mike Schnelle. Silke Muth. Peter Schneider. eds. 2016. Focus on Fortifications: New Research on Fortifications in the Ancient Mediterranean and the Near East. Oxbow Books. Oxford.
These do not appear to be included in depictions of "warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, as reproduced in Jung (1991). [1] However, Jung himself does not state these were not in use, nor does he remark on their absence in said depictions.
[1]: (Jung 1991) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
Some expert disagreement on whether an object commonly held by "warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age should be interpreted as a shield or a bow. [1]
[1]: (Jung 1991: 57) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
Some expert disagreement on whether an object commonly held by "warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age should be interpreted as a shield or a bow. [1]
[1]: (Jung 1991: 57) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
These do not appear to be included in depictions of "warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, as reproduced in Jung (1991). [1] However, Jung himself does not state these were not in use, nor does he remark on their absence in said depictions.
[1]: (Jung 1991) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
These do not appear to be included in depictions of "warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, as reproduced in Jung (1991). [1] However, Jung himself does not state these were not in use, nor does he remark on their absence in said depictions.
[1]: (Jung 1991) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
These do not appear to be included in depictions of "warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, as reproduced in Jung (1991). [1] However, Jung himself does not state these were not in use, nor does he remark on their absence in said depictions.
[1]: (Jung 1991) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
"The types of daggers and swords that appear in rock pictures of Gabal Maihar (no. 1), the site north of Wsdi Qu’ayf (no. 2), Sa’ib Suhaybar (no. 3), Gabal Ligasir (no. 4) and Gabal Haid (no. 5) are important for dating this group of Yemeni rock-art to the Bronze Age." [1] NB Jung’s chronology differs from the one used here, so that "his" Bronze Age actually overlaps to a significant extent with "our" Neolithic.
[1]: (Jung 1991: 68) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
Spears are widely documented in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age. [1]
[1]: (Jung 1991) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
These do not appear to be included in depictions of "warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, as reproduced in Jung (1991). [1] However, Jung himself does not state these were not in use, nor does he remark on their absence in said depictions.
[1]: (Jung 1991) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
"The types of daggers and swords that appear in rock pictures of Gabal Maihar (no. 1), the site north of Wsdi Qu’ayf (no. 2), Sa’ib Suhaybar (no. 3), Gabal Ligasir (no. 4) and Gabal Haid (no. 5) are important for dating this group of Yemeni rock-art to the Bronze Age." [1] NB Jung’s chronology differs from the one used here, so that "his" Bronze Age actually overlaps to a significant extent with "our" Neolithic.
[1]: (Jung 1991: 68) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
These do not appear to be included in depictions of "warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, as reproduced in Jung (1991). [1] However, Jung himself does not state these were not in use, nor does he remark on their absence in said depictions.
[1]: (Jung 1991) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
Horses not local, their remains not mentioned in descriptions of relevant archaeological contexts.
Elephant not local, their remains not mentioned in descriptions of relevant archaeological contexts.
Some expert disagreement on whether an object commonly held by "warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age should be interpreted as a shield or a bow. [1]
[1]: (Jung 1991: 57) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
Some expert disagreement on whether an object commonly held by "warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age should be interpreted as a shield or a bow. [1]
[1]: (Jung 1991: 57) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
These do not appear to be included in depictions of"warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, as reproduced in Jung (1991). [1] However, Jung himself does not state these were not in use, nor does he remark on their absence in said depictions.
[1]: (Jung 1991) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
In North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, figures interpreted as "warriors" appear to mostly wear"feathered head-dresses". [1] However, Jung himself does not state these were not in use, nor does he remark on their absence in said depictions.
[1]: (Jung 1991) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.
These do not appear to be included in depictions of"warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, as reproduced in Jung (1991). [1] However, Jung himself does not state these were not in use, nor does he remark on their absence in said depictions.
[1]: (Jung 1991) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK.